Mick McCarthy was delighted with the resilience of his side as Town held promotion chasing Middlesbrough to a draw at the Riverside. 

A 30,000 plus crowd kept up the volume for 90 minutes but Blues held firm, with Bart Bialkowski in terrific form again.

“It was a resilient, effective display against a team that has been put together for a lot of money,” the Town boss told Ipswich Player HD.

“We defended well and had to ride our luck a bit but with a bit more quality on the break we might have done them, as harsh as that might have been - not that I would have cared! It was a great point.

“It was a real baptism of fire for Diggers [Paul Digby] and he did great. I was delighted with him.

“Christophe [Berra] has a sore knee so I decided to put Diggers in. I was never worried about his attitude but he was up against some top players. 

“There were a few things that I will pick up with him but he did well. He could be a good player for us.”

The draw leaves Boro, Burnley and Brighton locked together at the top of the table, with Mick adding: “They are all good teams and I’m not sure who will go up but Chris Hughton [Brighton boss] is a big mate of mine and he’s a great bloke. We have done him a favour today and I’m delighted about that.”